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Beyond Rankings: How to Promote the Concept of Best Fit

Katie Leishear & Jeff Neill

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Session Outline

Introduction and Context
Getting to Know You
Objectives
Introduction and Overview of the Junior Project
Example of completed project
The Senior Project
Q & A

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INTRODUCTIONS

Katie Leishear

HS & College Counselor

Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Lima, Peru

Jeffrey Neill

Director of College Counseling

Graded - The American School of São Paulo

São Paulo, Brazil

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CONTEXT and GOALS

“best schools” and rankings
General lack of knowledge about universities world wide
Helps students hash out the unknown by forcing them to research and reflect
Parent accountability
Assists parents in understanding the realities of college admissions as well as what their child truly desires from their postsecondary education
Allows counselor to advocate for student

GOALS:

Something tangible to use right now
Ideas to use with both your juniors and seniors
For university reps, to understand how we are promoting the concept of fit and what you can do to partner with us and/or echo the same language

I’m fairly confident that no one in this audience is a stranger to the conversation of “I want to go to the best school, I want to go to this schools bc it’s ranked…”

There are so many universities around the world and students know so little, and there are so many great options for them, that they need to almost be forced to dig deeper by using reputable resources that are accurate instead of word of mouth and reddit. This is a student centered approach and it kind of forces them to think about what they really want out of their post secondary experience.

It involves parents in the process, how many times have you had a parent come to you completely clueless about what their child wants to study or where they want to go - and often time there is quite a disconnect between both sides

Which feeds into the idea of skewed reality.m.Both students and parents can have their heads in the cloud sometimes about university admissions and this research project forces them to look at hard data from universities and their own academic data to face reality. Additionally, equally important is that I have found many times that what students want is different for the planned trajectory that their parent has for them - and it’s a great way to get all parties on the same page and ultimately advocate for the student.

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WHO IS JOINING US?

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What exactly is the Junior Project?

Research presentation (powerpoint, google slides, canva) that students start completing in their junior year of high school that forces them to reflect on predetermined components that are essential in the college counseling process. Culminates with students profiling 5 universities where they are planning to apply.

ALL students must present by the end of their junior year to their counselor and parents.

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Components of the Junior Project

About me section
Criteria to consider fit
Academic Overview
Career Interest Survey
Character assessment/Strengths survey
Potential majors with connections to potential jobs and the student “why”
Profile of 5 universities where the student plans to apply
Optional: Timeline, Letters of Rec

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About me

Passports
Languages Spoken
Born? Home?
Previous HS education (if applicable)
Activities section: students should list what they their current and past activities and length of time for each activity
School Activities
Service Activities
Outside Activities

Of Note: bird’s eye view of your student

excellent resource for new incoming counselors

This is awesome for counselors coming in to a new school. It’s also great for counselors who are divided by grade level. In my current school I take 11 and 12, and so most of my first semester was highly dedicated to my seniors and while I got to know a fair amount of my juniors, most were at a superficial level.

Great way to get to know your students, plenty of kids will come to you from their own accord some won’t…great way for important information to come out that you as the counselor need to know

This is also a reality check for some students in itself when they see that they really haven’t been involved in anything…so when universities come to talk about your campus, if you have students that are really involved and that’s the norm - mention it, great opportunity to mention cool or unique clubs or student study abroad opportunities, internship assistance - you can have kids at both ends of the spectrum. Kids that want to know that these things are available or are done well at yoru school and kids who don’t do anything and need to know that your university wants kids who have contributed meaningfully to their community so mabe this isn’t the right fit (example tulane - Juju)

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Criteria to consider fit

Academic Atmosphere
Essential Extracurriculars or Sports
Geographic Location
Cost/Financial Aid
Size of School
Student Body
Living

These may change depending on your student population, but in general we find these areas of research really helpful when thinking about best fit.

Do they want a highly competitive rigorous atmosphere? Or do they want a little more laid back? DO they want high rigor but high support? Seminar style classes? Co op programs?

When a student has committed to an activity for such a long time throughout HS and even middle, it can be really important for them to continue. I had a student who really wanted to continue MUN - shes now at Sciences Po and loving it and already involved in the leadership there with their MUN.

Where do they want to be? This can be an area of disconnect between students and parents so it’s helpful to have students let their parents know where they WANT to be. Student wants to go to Europe but the parent says no way taht’s too far….or kid wants to go to California but the parent had an idea that their child would only go to states where they have family…

HUGE factor is financial aid. What can the parents afford? What are they WILLING to spend? Ex: Brian at Udel

Some students have gone to a close knit communit their whole lives and want to continue that, others hate it - and they want to be more anonymous at university. Also phrasing this as class size, are they ok with bigger freshman classes? Will they mind that?

Will they be comfortable in the student body? Does it represent them? Will they be accepted? What’s the diversity like? Do they have clubs where they can find like minded/interested people?

On campus vs. off campus? Can they get an apartment?

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/slideshows/10-steps-to-picking-the-right-school

High Rigor, High challenge, supportive, not too rigorous, not competitive

We have kids that are super passionate about things they do in HS we want them to continue doing those things beyond high school - highlight stand out programs at your school

Internationl kids don’t think about a lot of things - climate, major city vs suburbs, proximity to internatnoal airport or family - can also be a big disconnect for family - so this is essential

What are classes going to be like? Do you want it to small intimate class sizes are do you like being more anonymous - reps this is a great chance for you to describe what classes are like at your school (ex: round table discussions)

Really important….what money do you have to attend university? Kids have their heads in the clouds, parents also don’t realize all the hidden costs, exact numbers are needed - and what parents CAN pay and what they are willing to pay - forces a conversation.

Important for some students to have an international population - want diversity, Are they going to one of 5 peruvians on campus? Also LGTBQIA - what’s that community like? What initiatives are active at the school? Students need to know that their values line up with the institution

Some kids are super independent - they don’t want ot be in a dorm all four years, what are the options? Is it going to be difficult to get housing?

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Academic Profile

Transcripts or report cards that show all grades from 9-current

Optional: GPA calculation, predicted grades if at the end of junior year

Of Note: reality check for many students, helps with the concept of academic fit

Hard data. Forces them to understand their trajectory, and allows parent to see their trajectory - realities of highly selective schools

Also goes back to academic atmosphere - if they are a middle of the road student and they are happy there, they have no business adding highly selective schools to their list or maybe their a middle of the road student but they want to be in a more challenging environment - so what are some options that will help them get there instead of being throw into the deep end at a highly rejective school

Opposite end - being aware of undermatching where kids are selling themselves short and need to be encoauged a bit more

Use of scattergrams on college counseling software that shows admit rates from your school with GPA and test scores of past application

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Personal Strengths Survey

VIA Character

Produces 5 personal strengths that are ranked. Students have to list those, and then reflect on them and find examples of those strengths in their daily life and write 1-2 sentences about it.

Of note: general struggles with identifying strengths, good info/insight for supplemental essays, PIQ’s or even longer PS/PE

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Career Interests Inventory or Surveys

College Counseling Software: Maia, Cialfo, Unifrog…

-Myers Briggs

Other options:

Career One Stop

ONet Profiler (My next move)

Career Cluster Survey form Minnesota State

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Potential Majors

Potential Career	Area of study at university	Why?
Medicine	Biochemistry	……

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Profiling Universities

5 universities - MUST include comfort and safety (if necessary, financially safe)

Mandatory research components:

Size, cost, diversity, location, average profile of admitted freshman student, requirements, scholarship opportunities if needed, (reach/target/safety)

*you can change this up depending on your school community

Likes and Dislikes: forces them to really be objective and reflective

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Partnering with university reps

Can’t be a prophet in your own land
Echo the same language
Talk candidly about what type of student you are looking for
Talk about the type of student who would thrive at your school
Don’t be afraid to say who would NOT thrive at your school
Talk about new and upcoming programs and not just what you are best known for
Unique majors (4+1, partnerships)
A day in the life of…
Youtube/Social Media

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Logistics

Introduction: Advisory time mid November (intro during counseling lesson with template to make copy)

Work opportunities: will vary from school to school, but generally during advisory or college counseling class time throughout the school year. MAP testing/parent teacher conferences.

Parent Intro and Involvement: Parent introduction at mandatory junior night in Jan of junior year. (Timeline, roles and mandatory junior meeting)

Presentation: Mandatory junior meetings Mid/late April and May. Once project is complete and shared, they can book their official junior meeting for all parties (student, parent, counselor).

What about large caseloads or parents who are MIA?

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Student Example

STUDENT EXAMPLE

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A New Initiative @ Graded: The SENIOR Project

Senior Launchpad: An opening-of-school 9-hour “bootcamp” to prepare seniors for the application process.
New Slide Deck: A new set of questions and slides, including: final college list, application strategy, elevator pitch, essay topics, calendar
Elevator Pitch: designed to get seniors to whittle their own identity into a bite-sized “pitch” to use as a lens through which to see every component of their application.
Calendar: AI magic…

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Senior Launchpad

Wednesday: 6:00-7:00pm Student & Parent kick-off event

Overview, timeline, expectations

Thursday: 3:30-4:30pm Workshop

Application workshop

Friday: 3:30-4:30pm Workshop

Essay workshop

Saturday: 9:00am-2:00pm Workshop

List, Strategy Conversations, Elevator Pitch

Monday: 3:30-4:30pm Workshop

Finalize timeline, calendar workshop, etc.

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New SENIOR PROJECT Slide Deck

Final List & Criteria

Final or near-final list of schools with profile of each’s alignment with student criteria

Deadlines & App Types & Strategy

Application types, deadlines, and strategy

Elevator Pitch

What makes me stand out in the application…

Essay & Supplements

Here is what I have (or will) write about…

Completion Calendar

Here is how I will get everything done…

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SENIOR PROJECT: Elevator Pitch

Self-Reflect: Have students jot down their strengths, passions, future goals, and a unique aspect about themselves.
Structure the Pitch: Teach students the structure of an elevator pitch and ask them to create sentences based on their self-reflection.
Peer Practice: Pair up students to practice their pitches and give each other feedback.
Use ChatGPT: Have students input their pitches into ChatGPT (or a similar AI language model) for additional feedback and suggestions on clarity and conciseness.
Final Presentation: Select a few volunteers to present their final pitch to the class for communal feedback, and encourage all students to keep refining their pitches.

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SENIOR PROJECT: The Elevator Pitch Itself

The Brag Sheet @ Graded: a dynamic conversation
Getting students to see themselves in the final stretch to applications
Definition, for our purposes: “A succinct and persuasive argument for why you should be admitted to a university.”
This will be the lens that we will use to evaluate all aspects of a student’s applications, a strategic overlay or lens.
Students will share this with your rec-writing teachers to provide an additional way for them to align their letters with your self-perspective.

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THE ELEVATOR PITCH

I am a high school senior, and you are a professional marketer. Generate an elevator pitch about me as a college applicant using the information drawn from the worksheet provided below. Focus on alignment with my VIA character strengths in particular. The pitch should be brief, professional, and compelling, it must be written in the first person, and it should be no longer than 6 sentences.

[Copy-and-paste brag sheet here]

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THE CALENDAR PROMPT

As a high school senior, you are applying to several universities, each with a unique application type and official deadline. The universities are:

Oxford University (Regular Decision, October 15)
ENTER UNIVERSITY NAME (APP TYPE, UNI DEADLINE)

Your goal is to complete and submit all applications two weeks before their respective deadlines, as per your school's 'TWO WEEK RULE'. I am to create a comprehensive schedule for you in a table format, indicating the 'UNIVERSITY', 'PHASE', 'START DATE', 'DUE DATE', 'SUBMISSION', and actual 'DEADLINE'. The 'PHASES' include 'APPLICATION', 'SUPPLEMENT', 'SUBMISSION', and 'DEADLINE'.

The 'APPLICATION' phase requires 5 days.
The 'SUPPLEMENT' phase takes 3 days.
You can start working on the applications from August 15.
There's a break period from October 7-15 during which you can work on two tasks per day.

Keep in mind that you have:

a major Math assessment on September 21, which requires exclusive preparation for 3 full days prior;
ENTER NAME OF COMMITMENT, DATE OF COMMITMENT, AND DATES UNAVAILABLE FOR WORK HERE.

Assist me in generating this college application timeline, ensuring all tasks are sequenced properly and all deadlines are met.

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SENIOR PROJECT: The Final Step…

One final prompt after the ChatGPT-created table is accurate:

We will have students do this and then upload their Google Calendar to a new calendar, which they will then share with their college counselor and parents.

Export this table into a .CSV according to the formatting requirements so that it can be uploaded into Google Calendar.

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SENIOR PROJECT: Looking Ahead

Final List & Criteria

Final or near-final list of schools with profile of each’s alignment with student criteria

Deadlines & App Types & Strategy

Application types, deadlines, and strategy

Elevator Pitch

What makes me stand out in the application…

Essay & Supplements

Here is what I have (or will) write about…

Completion Calendar

Here is how I will get everything done…

Meeting v. Recording

Parent accountability

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Thank you!

Questions & Comments